Not Your Average Life
by Velvetish
Summary: Shikamaru knew what he wanted and yet why were things not going his way? Oh, right. There's this constant variable in his life that kept altering the 'reality' and contouring it into her own liking: Yamanaka Ino. Or was she?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! I just feel like sharing to you guys where the hell did this story originated from. First thing first, I am totally in love with ShikaIno pairing. It does not help that I already love them separately. Second of all, I am but a mere frustrated writer. One day, I decided to watch Naruto from the beginning and when I was in the Shippuuden series, I got caught off guard by one of its opening songs: Sha La La. It was on replay for one good week! Then one night, the plot bunny decided to give me a random visit and came to see me in my dreams. I woke up, trying to remember my dream. One moment I was adjusting my eyesight then the next thing I knew I was typing rather too fast that I didn't even care for my grammar, thinking that I'd fix all those when I awoke later. Then tada! I am such a talker, I know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 1**

Ino always thought she knew everything, that she had everything figured out. It did not take a genius to know what life had in store for her, but she surely did not expect this chapter in her life:

The Konoha's Flower fell hopelessly in love with the lazy boy genius.

Thing was, she was not exactly Shikamaru's type. We all had heard about his ideal woman: _marry a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after his daughter is married and his son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of his life playing shogi or Go. Then die of old age before his wife._

He also did not picture her to be a major part of his life. As far as she knew, she already caused a whole lot and more bothersome things to him just being his bossy teammate. And not to mention being the daughter of his father's best friends made Ino and Shikamaru childhood playmates with Chouji and a family friend to both clans.

Problem was that Shikamaru has another troublesome woman in his life. Yeah sure, Ino had the privilege to be his first (aside from his mother) but that was because of the consequences brought by the previous legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Inoichi and Shikaku, along with Chouza, were the best of friends back in their days up until now. To make things short, Shikaku and Chouza each had a son to continue their lineage but Inoichi had a daughter. It was only normal to continue the Ino-Shika-Cho Konoha was so proud about.

And that's pretty much where it all started. From that moment on, she was already a part of Shikamaru's life as a teammate, a friend, and as family. Nothing more and probably less.

But this Temari, a kunoichi in the Hidden Village in the Sand, was obviously someone who just popped out of nowhere and entered Shikamaru's life.

She was older and much more mature than Ino and Shikamaru combined. (Well, Ino thinks she is.) She was a lot more reliable and strong compared to her. She was also pretty, only if she fixed her hair would she be higher than her in that department.

At her young age, she already had heavy responsibilities on her shoulders. She was the Sand Ambassador and a Jounin. The current Kazekage was her little brother! To top it all off, she could keep up with Shikamaru's laid-back personality and she had this healthy rivalry with him.

Now, how could she ever compete with her?

As confident and strong-willed as she was, Ino knew a losing battle when she saw one, and this _thing_ she had towards Shikamaru was the epitome of impossibility. Too bad, she was also in it, too.

Already taken in too deep, Ino was in a frantic search of a permanent solution to her situation. She already had come up with temporary fixes, like dating other boys and taking care of her family's flower shop.

Until recently, she found her old rivalry with Sakura proved to be beneficial to her desperate situation. With that as her reason, she intentionally joined the Intel Division while still studying Medical Jutsu under Tsunade during her shifts in the Hidden Leaf Hospital.

With her demanding workload in the Hospital and Intel Division taking almost half of her time, the Medical Jutsu training and espionage missions kept her mind from wandering off for days. As for her rare days off, she had flower arrangements to take care of and her overtime at the hospital to keep her busy.

Alas, she had found her perfect distractions. She was kept busy from her different responsibilities as a shinobi and as a daughter. She was caught between relief and disappointment when her career and hobbies did not at all come close to Shikamaru's. Well, aside from being a member of the Intel Division that is. There were times she would see his retreating back in the hallways, always talking to Shiho or her own father, Inoichi, about Konoha's safety. She later mentally noted that she should not go anywhere near the Hokage's Office unless it was for missions or emergency purposes.

But as they say, the only thing permanent in this world is change and she did not like the change of plans she just received this morning.

She was alone in her family's flower shop, already had started her weaving routine when she was called out by a worried looking Shizune, telling her that she was summoned by the angry Hokage and that she was also expecting she'd bring Shikamaru with her all in 15 minutes.

What a way to ruin her perfect Shikamaru-less life.

"I know this mission is sudden and I suppose Tsunade-sama has to be the one to break the news for you, but I can't help it! Especially when it's something to be proud about!"

"What do you mean, Shizune-san?" Ino tilted her head from her utter confusion.

"Well, this mission will dictate your career as a shinobi! Wait, as an Intel Division member that is."

"Don't tell me-!" said Ino upon fully realizing the opportunity the Hokage gave her.

"Yes! Success of this mission will guarantee you the position as the Intel Division Head!" Shizune ran towards her and embraced her.

"Oohh! I'm so happy and proud of you, Ino-san! You and Sakura are like little sisters to me that I didn't have!"

Eyes widened and completely stunned by the news, Ino could only return her embrace. Her incomplete, and now a mess, weaving left laying on the floor.

When her sempai finally left the shop that was the time when Ino had fully realized the reality she was about to be in: she had to go to the Hokage office _with_ Shikamaru and she also had to look for _him_!

She clicked her tongue and almost kicked the incomplete flower arrangement at the wall. What happened? What did she do to deserve this? She was improving in her medical training, she had saved countless lives in the hospital, she had made tons of moody brides happy by making exquisite wedding flower arrangements, and she had all succeeded with her espionage missions! She was also as good as Sakura when it comes to medical jutsu!

So why? Why now when she was already contented with her life without Shikamaru in it? Not only that, she was finally given the chance to be the head of the Intel Division, but to her dismay, that would also mean she would spend some time with Shikamaru. He was, without a doubt, a genius and he would gradually replace his old man as the Head Strategist of Konoha.

She almost fell like crying right then and there. Once again, she did not know what to do with her life to make things work for her. She was always wishing to the stars when she could not sleep at night to revert everything back to where it was perfectly normal. Back to the days when she did not have to make plans to avoid Shikamaru, to those late lunch treats with Team 10 and Asuma, and to those carefree days when she could have moments with Shikamaru without feeling giddy about it.

_Back to the days when we were just Team 10 with Asuma-sensei._

After a good 5 minutes, Ino stood up from her stool and prepared herself to leave. All this moping around was not helping her. She needed to face reality and get it done with already. She called out to her mom, relaying to her what happened earlier before she leaped out and started her frantic search for Shikamaru.

Given the initial look plastered on Shizune's face and having Tsunade mad already this early, Ino knew Shikamaru was somewhere nonchalantly watching the clouds and, of course, slacking off from work. What's new.

Knowing him and his odd hobby (aside from playing Shogi), Ino tried to remember all his favorite areas to do his cloud activities and proceeded to each. While in her search, Ino had made immediate preparations to appear normal with him, but when she reached the fifth place of Shikamaru's Top Cloud Watching Spots and actually saw him there, she could not help but stop. That is, to calm the wild pounding her heart had been doing the instant she spotted him.

Her hands were sweating, her lungs and throat were burning from hyperventilating, her eyesight was losing focus, and her head was a combination of the state of being blank and full of images of him. If ever that was possible.

_This is absolutely absurd! Calm down, Ino. Calm down. It's only Shikamaru._

Repeating that to herself over and over again, Ino finally regained composure. She knew she could not avoid Shikamaru forever. One day, she would have to talk to him like the old days. With all the courage she could have mustered in less than a minute, she took one step closer to his sleeping form.

.

.

.

It was now or never.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! And hey 'ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36', 'Yoky2cool4u', and 'Haylin-chan' for your reviews. Hehe, I was smiling like this :3 when I was courageous enough checked my email, then this X3 when I read your reviews! As for Yoky2cool4u's comment, Temari's role will be brought up in the next chapters (I'm not quite sure myself exactly when)

Anyways, I think my summary is _kinda_ misleading compared to the initial idea I have for this story (which is revealed in this chapter). Hahahaha so I guess I have to change that and the rating as well. (hint hint~) Actually, I'm quite torn whether changing the genre of this story: Romance/Humor or Romance/Drama? Why can't it be Romance/Humor/Drama?

Now onto the show, err, story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Just this story.

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**Chapter 2**

It was moderately hot and harsh winds dominated that afternoon. The sound of leaves rustling could be heard practically everywhere in the village. Civilians were up and about hours ago, already busy with their everyday routine. It was yet another typical day in the bustling village of Konoha.

With no missions and no documents piling up on his desks (or so he thought), Shikamaru spent his "free time" doing his favorite hobby: watching clouds. With his hands serving as pillows, his eyes wander off to the sky.

No one really knew what was so fascinating about clouds nor had considered to spend time to actually watch them drift away, but Shikamaru knew better. With all the things happening around them, he had taken the pleasure of relaxing in watching clouds. Or rather, he made it that way. As lazy as he was, it was only a matter of time before he found leisure in this strange habit. It took only little energy to watch the clouds but it certainly brought him to a state wherein he could lounge around and rest.

He was alone on the rooftop; one of his favorite spots, but also one of the easiest places he could be found. He did not have control over his time anymore, and with little interval from his previous work to his supposedly present to-do things now, he still managed to escape. With his 200 IQ, even the slightest probability could be possible.

So he plotted his escape route in his mind; considering where he was, the people he was talking to, and to his cloud watching spots. He came up with over a hundred of fool proof plans and chose the best one.

Shifting his weight, he laid on his side trying to cover his eyes from the sun with his arm. _Finally, some peace and quiet._

Or so he thought.

A loud thud came from behind him but before that…

"Oy! Shikamaru! What are you doing here lazying about?"

He forgot that he has _that _variable in his life.

_That troublesome woman_, he muttered between his teeth.

Aside from his mother, he knew someone else who had enough energy to scold him around. Knowing who his perpetrator was, he closed his eyes, ignoring her and trying to feign sleep.

As if she knew what Shikamaru was thinking, she said with a teasing tone, "Ah! Don't tell me you've been slacking off from your work! Wait until your mother gets to hear thi—"

"Stop acting childish, Ino. Don't drag my mother into this." Shikamaru sat up, making sure he annoyed her with how slowly his movements were.

"You know that I'm only kidding, Shikamaru, but won't that be funny? Well, at least for my part. Besides, she might actually get your butt moving and actually do your work. Yoshino-san _is_ your mother after all,"

"Troublesome. So? Why did you come here for? You already cut off my break time in half with your silly bickering."

She looked at him and took in his lazy appearance; his arms resting on his knees, his back slouched, and his face obviously scowled with annoyance. He never seized to look so handsome without putting any effort at all.

Putting all those girlish thoughts aside, she scowled back, "Come on, Tsunade-sama sent me to look for you… right after she knew you were missing. You were supposed to pick up some documents at her office, you know?"

Shikamaru sighed at that reminder of his previous work and lowered his head. "Ahh. I will surely get a shitload of scolding from her. You women are just so troublesome."

"What did you say?"

"N-nothing. I was just wondering why you were sent out to look for me,"

"Oh, yeah. Tsunade-sama said she has a mission for us,"

"A mission, huh? That's even more trou—"

"One more time I hear _that _word from your mouth, Shikamaru, and I swear you'll never speak of it anymore!"

"…As I was saying, let's hurry and look for Asuma-sensei and Chouji,"

"No need for that. The Hokage appointed only the two of us for this mission. It must be fairly easy sending only the both of us," she tossed her fringe away from her face. Ah, he knew that mannerism of hers. It was a foolish attempt to cover her nerves. He deliberately ignored the fact that he knew she was anxious about the mission and replied methodically,

"A mission without Chouji and Asuma-sensei? This is more—"

Ino shot a death glare at him before he could utter the first syllable of his favorite word.

"Now hurry and let's get this _troublesome_ mission over with!" She jumped off from the seat and ran to the direction of the Hokage Tower, leaving behind a very unenthusiastic Shikamaru.

"Troublesome…" he muttered before he followed suit.

They reached their destination in no time, much to Shikamaru's dismay but it was better to deal with this now and finish it off quickly he thought. Ino knocked on the door of the Hokage's office and waited for her to let them enter. After she did, Ino opened the door and walked to the center of the room and there waited for the mission briefing.

"Took you long enough to find him," Tsunade said. Ino and Shikamaru could hear the anger in her voice. Shikamaru looked at Shizune, who was standing next to the Hokage. She was frowning, no surprise there considering the foul mood Tsunade was in. He inwardly sighed, trying not to show any annoyance on his face to make the Hokage angrier.

"With things already _troublesome_, I will tell you the details of the mission,"

'_What's with these women using my word this morning?' _Shikamaru thought.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. We're very sorry we are late," Ino quickly apologized.

"Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, you two are given an espionage mission in Yugakureand will dispatch at noon. Having a spying mission, the two of you are to pose as a newlywed couple."

Wow, there goes the bomb.

Ino gasped at her master's orders, while Shikamaru frowned.

"As for the other details, refer to this scroll." Tsunade took out a scroll on one of her drawers. Shikamaru walked over to her desk and pick the scroll from her.

"We only need to gather information about the target and killing is definitely not one of your options." She directed this order to Shikamaru, obviously the team leader of this two-man cell mission. She then glanced to the two shinobis in front of her, continuing her little speech, "Knowing the two of you and your jutsu, this mission is just a piece of cake." Tsunade reclined on her seat. Shizune took this as her signal and walked towards Ino.

"Ino, please take this. This will greatly aid your mission's chances of success, but having Shikamaru with you already guaranteed us that," Ino nodded.

"There's a scroll in there for your further instructions." Shizune added before turning to Shikamaru.

'_Okay great. Added pressure…' _Ino thought.

"And here are your things, Shikamaru. I bid you good luck with your mission,"

Shikamaru muttered his thanks as he took the bag from her. As Shizune walked back to Tsunade's side, the Hokage spoke again, "With all those things said, you may leave now. I accept only success from you two. Especially you, Ino." At those final words, the Hokage eyed Ino rather intensely. The kunoichi in the spotlight could only stare back and gulped.

She and Shikamaru then nodded and left the office to go to their respective homes to prepare themselves for the mission.

"Let's meet at the gates of Konoha after an hour." Shikamaru ordered before they went separate ways.

Once Ino was in her room, she let out her breath she was unconsciously holding. She took out the scroll from her side pocket and opened it to read the contents.

"Yamanaka Ino, here are the specifications of your role in this mission. Your codename will be Nadeshiko. A young woman, 18 years of age, married to a young merchant named Uruki. The following list will be the basis of your actions once you entered Yugakure:

1. You must act ladylike and polite. _Watch carefully with your tone and words towards everyone in the village and especially to your husband. __AVOID__ any unnecessary arguments unless planned;_

2. Change into your mission clothes and wear your wedding ring at all times. _Make sure you embedded the image of a decent-looking housewife and __AVOID_ _any suspicions. No one will suspect someone so feminine inflicting harm to others;_

3. As a housewife, have the knowledge of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of your husband. _Enough said; _

4. Gather information about the target's purpose and plans of invading the Hidden Village of the Sand. _Once finished, you two are therefore to go back immediately and report your findings without raising suspicions._ And lastly;

5. The results of this mission will be the basis of your recommendation as the Head of the Intel Division. _Failure is not an option._"

Ino dropped the scroll from her hands and slumped on the floor. She couldn't believe what the Hokage wanted them to do or wanted her to do to be more precise! She had known from her father that information was very crucial to the village, but gathering these never had been too… _troublesome_! She looked at the scroll on her side and picked it up. "And is this scroll for real? How was this written in such a joking way anyway? Really! Whoever wrote this needs some formal writing lessons to attend to!" and with that she threw the scroll in question at her wall.

Breathing hard, Ino tried to gather herself and what better way to do that was a nice, cold shower. Considering their departure, however, she had to keep it short. Without wasting any second, she grabbed her towel and removed her hair from its usual ponytail.

After relieving some steam off, Ino picked up the bag Shizune gave her in the Hokage Office and opened it. Once she realized the contents of the bag, another trip to her bathroom sounded so inviting. Spread on her bed was her mission's clothes, which composed of a couple of t-shirts and ankle-length skirts that both came with different and matching colors.

"So THIS is one way of becoming ladylike? What's wrong with my normal clothes?" she sighed at the clothes the Hokage had prepared for her. "But a mission is a mission."

After drying herself, she changed into those conservative _ugly_ clothes. She glanced herself on her mirror and noticed something way off yet somewhat… good? She was about to set her hair up in her usual high ponytail, but seeing her outfit and her hair sprawled behind her kind of did match. Except her long fringe. She rummaged through her cabinet and found her previous favorite hair accessory: her purple headband. She put it on, sliding back all the hair away from her face, and took one final look at her appearance.

She gasped. She looked very different in a very, very good and simple way. She never thought she would look this… decent without spending a lot of time fixing on her looks, but she did. She could not help but let out a giggle.

Now done with those, Ino hurried to pack the rest of her mission's clothes and some necessary supplies into her backpack. Glancing one last look to her room, she left the room after she grabbed a cloak from her closet.

After writing a goodbye note to her parents, Ino went her way to the gates of the village. On her short trip there, she wore her cloak, having decided to herself that no one should catch her looking like that. She did not like the idea of people asking and her explaining everything or anything to them.

Upon reaching the gates of Konoha, she did not find Shikamaru. _Great, I have to wait for him looking like this._

She stood by the gate waiting for her lazy teammate and in a few minutes, her _husband_. She shuddered at that thought and felt her face burning up. "Calm down, Ino. This is just a mission… with Shikamaru as your husband…" blushing even more, she shook her head, "Right! An important mission that will dictate my career as a kunoichi!"

Without her noticing it, Ino had caught the attention of Kotetsu and Izumo. The duo watched her having a one-on-one conversation with herself. Intrigued by the scenario before them, Izumo rose from his seat and approached her.

"Uhm… Lady? Is everything okay? Are you waiting for someone to come home from a mission or what?" he asked as he stopped a few steps away from her.

Hearing this, Ino had realized she had drawn attention to herself. She slowly turned around to face Izumo and decided to answer for the heck of it. Besides, she needed some practice before the actual mission.

"I'm so sorry, Izumo-san." She bowed, "I'm just waiting for Shikamaru. Have you seen him anywhere? He was supposed to be here by now…"

To say that Izumo was dumbstruck was an understatement. He knew he was looking at Yamanaka Ino but what he was hearing was someone else. This girl in front of him, talking to him, had a low sweet voice and the Ino he knew, or what he heard from others, was a loud-mouth kunoichi who wore a rather too revealing outfit.

"I-Ino?"

_Great! It worked!_ "Yes, Izumo-san. It's me, Ino. What seems to be the problem? Are you feeling unwell? You don't look so good…" she pursed further, rather too sweet to even consider it flirting.

"Oh. I mean no offense, Ino, but you seem different today. But different in a good way that is! Ha ha ha!"

"So you're feeling well then? That's good." She kept it simple and smiled a little in the end even though she wanted to land a punch or two on his face right then and there.

"Ah, yes! Thanks for your concern. And as for Shikamaru, we haven't seen him this morning," after that, Kotetsu appeared beside the dazzled Izumo.

"Oh that reminds me. We received a notice from the Hokage that you and Shikamaru will go on a mission today. Good luck you two!"

Ino returned with a forced small laugh, obviously not wanting to comment anymore.

_Where the hell is that idiot?_

Shikamaru was leaning on a wall of a nearby building, watching the entire scene with interest. He heard every word exchanged between the three. It did not take him a lot of guessing that Ino was using the older shinobis to practice her cover.

Smirking, he approached the three. _Maybe this mission is not that troublesome at all._

But once Ino sensed his presence, she instantly went berserk.

"Where the hell were you? If I was not mistaken, you were the one who told me that we were to meet here in an hour!"

'_Or that I was wrong.' _

"Sorry, sorry. I had other things to take care of unlike some of us."

"I'm not really leisurely spending my time unlike some lazy guy here."

Shikamaru shrugged, "I guess. Well, let's go. We don't want to waste any more time standing here. Besides, I want to finish this mission as fast as we can. This is just too bothersome as it is,"

That struck Ino and immediately back down from their argument, "Y-Yeah, you're right. We'll be on our way now, Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san,"

Izumo and Kotetsu watched the duo as they disappear from their view.

"Do you think they can pull it off?" Kotetsu asked.

"What do you mean by that? Their teamwork is one of the best in the village!"

"No, I'm not talking about that. Well, given your initial reaction to Ino's actions and, err, choice of clothes, I doubt that you have read the latest report from the Hokage this morning."

"Why? What's so special about their mission, anyways?"

"Just read the damn report," said Kotetsu as he gave him the said report and went back to their post. As he was about to sit down, he heard a loud yelp from his partner and –

"Lucky bastard!"

The two reached the open gates side by side, looking forward to the road that will lead them to Yugakure after a tiring 3-day travel. There was a comfortable silence between the two, already assessing their mission. It was then Shikamaru who broke the silence as he took a step forward, "Nice practice there, Ino." He turned to look at her then, "Or should I call you Nadeshiko now?"

He flashed her a smile that turned into a playful smirk which Ino truly believed if it were not for her strong, slender limbs she would definitely ended up sprawled on the dirt. Instead, she could not help but blush and gape at him. But when his lips pressed into a thin line, still with a hint of playfulness, Ino knew she had to response or else no lie could cover her undeniable feelings towards him.

"Hell yeah you do," said Ino when she finally found her strength to compose herself, having to close her mouth and stand proudly, and taking few steps away from him. When she knew she was in a safe distance away from him, she twirled around to him and said, "_U-ru-ki-kun_" She even ended it with a wink.

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So, did you tally how many times I used _troublesome_ in this chapter?


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